The Gray-Braithwaite feud was a violent feud between two wealthy plantation dynasties of southern Louisiana, the Gray family and the Braithwaite family, which erupted in 1899. The Grays of Caliga Hall were descended from Scottish settlers and had allegedly spied for the Union during the American Civil War and become pro-Reconstruction "Scalawags" after the war; meanwhile, the Braithwaites of Braithwaite Manor were descended from English immigrants and were an established dynasty of Southern Democrat planters. The rivalry between the two families dated back to 1806, but it worsened after the American Civil War and finally turned violent in 1899 due to the intervention of the Van der Linde Gang and the Louisiana Raiders, resulting in the extinction of the Braithwaites and the near-extinction of the Grays.
Background[]
Origins of the feud[]
The Gray family had emigrated from Scotland to French Louisiana in 1755 after Jacobite supporters began hunting down and killing British loyalists who had conspired against them during their failed 1745 uprising; one of these conspirators was Ross Gray, who fled to the Americas to avoid being murdered. The Grays founded Caliga Hall, becoming wealthy planters under both French and American rule.
Meanwhile, the Braithwaite family had emigrated from England to the Thirteen Colonies in 1779, eventually settling in the Louisiana Territory and building Braithwaite Manor in Beauregard Parish. The two families came to be quite wealthy due to their use of slave labor to grow tobacco and cotton, but, in 1806, Douglas Gray - an abolitionist - had an affair with Lucile Braithwaite, who helped him steal a significant stash of gold from her family and then some money from his family in order to finance the abolitionist movement in the new US state of Louisiana. Both families believed that the other had stolen the gold, creating a feud between the families. This was exacerbated during the American Civil War, during which the Grays were alleged to have been "Yankee spies"; in any case, they became pro-Reconstruction "Scalawags" after the war, siding with the Republican administration in exchange for new opportunities. Meanwhile, the Braithwaites - who had remained loyal to the Confederacy during the war - tried to re-consolidate their power along traditional Southern lines. While the Grays came to be quite powerful in local politics, especially in Rhodes, Allen Parish (where Leigh Gray came to serve as sheriff), both families - regardless of their affiliations during the Civil War - were devastated by the emancipation of their slaves.
Violent times[]
An 1899 article about the Louisiana Raiders
By 1899, the rural Scarlett Meadows region of Louisiana - where both the Grays and Braithwaites lived - had become a lawless frontier due to the reign of terror of the neo-Confederate Louisiana Raiders gang. According to a Saint Denis Times Tribune article: "The war for Southern independence took many casualties. Almost every family in the country knew of a loved one who perished in that war. While many have put the conflict behind them, and tried to bring our proud nation back together, that very struggle continues to beguile members of the Louisiana Raiders gang. Initially looked upon as patriotic heroes fighting against tyranny during that conflict, they have failed to let the war between the states pass to history, instead using it as a rally point to wage war on law abiding citizens. And, some say, they hav ebecome the tyranny themselves. Structured as a militia unit, they continue to recruit young disaffected men and engage in robberies and arms deals, even declaring that they are immune from tax and other regulation. They speak frequently of freedom and independence, yet there have been numerous reports of robberies from government institutions and citizens themselves. Current dispatches indicate they have taken up refuge in locations in the swamps and bayous in the lowland country, and many lawmen and bounty hunters are apprehensive to approach the area. Some have said it will take a massive amount of force to bring this murderous gang to heel." The Braithwaites capitalized on this by engaging in business dealings with the Raiders, such as the sale of illegal moonshine to them.
War[]
Outside intervention[]
In 1899, the wanted Van der Linde Gang fled their camp at Horseshoe Overlook, Nebraska after a large-scale shootout with the law and with Leviticus Cornwall's security guards in the cattle town of Valentine. They decided to head east, as they had already been run out of Texas and the West after a failed bank robbery in Blackwater. The gang initially planned to set up their new camp at Dewberry Creek, but after rescuing the German immigrant miner Andreas Clemens from local outlaws, they decided that the site of his kidnapping - Clemens Point - was a better camp location. They set up camp at the clearing, which was concealed enough to prevent the Pinkertons, bounty hunters, Cornwall's men, or lawmen from tracking them down.
The Anderson Boys attempting to escape
A day later, Dutch van der Linde, Hosea Matthews, and Arthur Morgan set out on a fishing trip, but, as they rode near the town of Rhodes, they ran across Sheriff Leigh Gray and Deputy Archibald MacGregor transporting several criminals in a prison cart. Recognizing one of the prisoners as his associate Josiah Trelawny, Dutch introduced himself to the lawmen as "Hoagy McIntosh" and attempted to convince the lawmen to release Trelawny. While this happened, the imprisoned Anderson Boys picked the cage's lock and fled, hopping onto a passing train. Dutch volunteered Arthur's help, and Arthur (calling himself "Arthur Callahan") and Archibald chased down the Andersons and knocked all of them out, taking an unconscious Anders Anderson captive and bringing him to the jail at Rhodes, where they rendezvoused with Dutch, Hosea, and Leigh.
Over the next few days, Dutch went on to ingratiate himself with the local law during visits to Rhodes, while he and Arthur learned from Trelawny that Leigh belonged to a prominent family which was in a feud with the rival Braithwaites over what was supposedly a dispute over lost Confederate gold. Dutch ordered that his men not carry weapons or cause any trouble in Rhodes, keeping a low profile. However, there were some interruptions in this peace. One night, as Arthur Morgan and fellow gang member Sadie Adler rode out of Rhodes on a wagon carrying camp supplies, they were accosted by Raiders members Jared Bowles and Gideon McCourtney, who demanded that they pay for safe passage. Sadie instead drew a gun and shot at them, and Morgan and Adler proceeded to ride to a crossroads where they dismounted and engaged in a shootout with around a dozen Raiders, killing all of the bushwhackers.
Bayou shootout[]
Days later, Dutch convinced Leigh to deputize the men in his gang (much to the chagrin of Arthur, and confusing his fellow gang member Charles Smith), and Dutch, Arthur Morgan, Bill Williamson, and Archibald then set out to sabotage the Braithwaites by shutting down their illegal moonshine still in Bayou Nwa at Merkin's Waller. Along the way, they found the dead body of state legislator Fredrick Mitchell and his driver next to an ambushed wagon, indicating that the Raiders had recently been in the area. The posse proceeded to sneak up to the still in the swamp and silently incapacitate the Braithwaite employees Billy Lime, Eliphalet Moffett, Zachariah Pedan, and Isaiah Channel, hogtying them and taking them captive. Morgan went on to blow up the still with dynamite, alerting nearby Raiders to the loss of their property. Williamson ran to confront them, so Morgan accompanied him and helped him kill over a dozen Raiders in a massive shootout behind the still. Afterwards, they returned to Dutch and Archibald, and they convinced Archibald to let them take a share of the moonshine as payment for their help, as Archibald was already planning on taking some for himself.
Arthur and Hosea riding into Braithwaite Manor
Hosea Matthews then planned a bold business deal: he recruited Arthur to join him as they drove the moonshine wagon to Braithwaite Manor to sell the stolen liquor back to Catherine Braithwaite. They were allowed into the wagon after one Braithwaite guard hopped on the back of their wagon, and they requested an audience with Catherine. She and her armed sons emerged and angrily berated the two men for their audacity, but she ultimately agreed to pay them half of the barrels' worth, giving them $.50 per barrel returned to her. However, rather than keep the barrels, she offered them extra payment if they would ride to the Gray-owned Rhodes Parlour House and give away the moonshine for free as "promotional advertisement".
Parlour House shootout[]
The Rhodes Parlour House at night
Hosea and Arthur - assuming the identities of "Melvin" and his mute and stupid brother "Fenton" - bribed the bartenders at the saloon to let them take over for the night, pretending to be advertising their own brand of alcohol. Hosea then announced to the many patrons that he would be giving away free alcohol for the rest of the night in order to promote it, and Arthur poured several glasses of the strong drink all night long, causing a rowdy and drunken party which was attended by several townspeople.
Arthur Morgan and Hosea Matthews riding on their wagon
The Raiders soon caught wind of the theft and free distribution of their moonshine, and Emory Pedan and a group of Raiders barged into the saloon and confronted the outlaws about their theft of the Raiders' shine. The tense standoff ended with a massive shootout which left several Raiders dead, while Hosea and Arthur escaped on their wagon. In the aftermath of the parlour house shooting, the Grays upped their security, fearing that the Braithwaites would turn to even more violence. Their patriarch Leigh Gray - unaware of Dutch's gang's involvement in the parlor house shooting - went on to recruit the gang to steal the Braithwaites' prize stallions from their manor, promising them that the horses were worth $5,000. Morgan, John Marston, and Javier Escuella entered the manor while pretending to be horse buyers, only to get the jump on the stable hand Gawen Wiley and steal the three stallions. They shot several Braithwaite henchmen dead as they escaped, and they sold the horses to Clay and Clive Davies, although they only managed to get $700 for the horses.
Attack on Caliga Hall[]
The burning tobacco fields
Meanwhile, Dutch - swayed by his dark-minded gang member Micah Bell - decided to play both families against each other and rob them both, figuring that they would kill each other anyways, and would therefore not pose a threat to the gang. At a meeting with Catherine and her son Bartholomew Braithwaite at Braithwaite Manor, Hosea, Arthur, and Sean MacGuire were hired to burn the tobacco fields at Caliga Hall, and Morgan and MacGuire rode to the hall aboard a wagon loaded with moonshine. They were welcomed into the hall by Hamish McAllister, who even offered to guide Sean to the storehouse. Once there, Sean stealthily killed Hamish, and he and Arthur waited there until nightfall, silently made their way to the tobacco fields with jugs of moonshine, and poured them across all of the fields. Once the fields were doused, the two of them threw fire bottles into the fields, setting them ablaze. This alerted all of the Gray security guards, leading to a massive shootout as the two men ran through the smoke-thick plantation to cut loose the horses from the family's payroll wagon and escape on horseback, the payroll in tow. The tobacco fields were devastated by the fire, which was exacerbated by a dry season. While Sean and Arthur believed that they had escaped unrecognized, the Grays presided over a skilled intelligence network which, over the next few weeks (during which time Morgan was captured and tortured by the O'Driscoll Boys before escaping) discovered Dutch's gang's role in the attack.
Battle of Rhodes[]
The Battle of Rhodes
Weeks later, after robbing a stagecoach with Trelawny, Morgan rode into town to meet up with his fellow gang members Bill Williamson, Micah Bell, and Sean MacGuire, who informed Arthur that they had been contracted by the Grays for a security job in town. Sean expressed his amazement that he and Arthur might have gotten away with the Caliga Hall attack, but, upon seeing that the streets were deserted and that there was an out-of-place wagon at the end of Main Street, Arthur expressed his discomfort with the situation. As Sean began to reply, he was shot in the head by a sniper, killing him instantly. The other outlaws took cover as Gray family gunmen ambushed them, and a massive shootout - the Battle of Rhodes - ensued. Over a score of Grays were killed in the ensuing gun battle, and Sheriff Leigh Gray holed up in the sheriff's office with Williamson as his captive. Morgan and Bell taunted Gray to come out of the office, and, when he did, he came with Williamson as a human shield. However, Morgan quick-drew and shot all four lawmen - including Gray and Archibald MacGregor - dead. The three surviving outlaws fled from Rhodes, and they returned to camp with Sean's body and buried him.
Burning of Braithwaite Manor[]
Dutch and his gang arriving at Braithwaite Manor
Back at camp, the grim mood was worsened when Andrew Milton and the Pinkertons warned Dutch that he would soon be crushed, and it was also discovered that Marston's young son Jack Marston had been kidnapped by the Braithwaites. The men of the gang then set out to retrieve the boy, infuriated at the Braithwaites' betrayal. Upon arriving at the manor that night, Dutch called on the Braithwaites to come out with the boy, but they were greeted by Catherine's armed sons and their henchmen. A tense standoff turned into a gunfight which initially took place outside of the house, only for the gang to shoot their way into the mansion and kill the Braithwaite sons. They then repelled Braithwaite reinforcements who rode onto the estate grounds at the main entrance, and they found Catherine cowering in her bedroom. Dutch shot a defiant Catherine in the foot and then took her downstairs as his men set fire to her mansion, and he interrogated her on the front porch. She revealed that she had sold Jack to the New Orleans crime boss Angelo Bronte, and Dutch decided to leave her as her 122-year-old mansion burned to cinders. Distraught at her sons' deaths and the loss of her home, she rushed back into the burning building and died in the flames.
Aftermath[]
In the end, the Braithwaite clan was wiped out, leaving the Grays as the sole survivors of the feud. However, Tavish Gray shot himself on his front porch after receiving a letter from a Scottish historian who revealed that Tavish's Scottish immigrant ancestor was a British spy and not a Jacobite exile. By 1907, Caliga Hall was still owned by the Grays and was well-maintained, and the Grays won a pyrrhic victory over their Braithwaite rivals.
Gallery[]
